Elliot Lake Fire Chief Paul Officer Population of 11,500. Once the - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Elliot Lake Fire Chief Paul Officer

 Population of 11,500.  Once the Uranium Capital of the World.  Mines closed in 1996 and the community re-tooled to become a retirement living community.  The program became very successful to keep the community on the map.

Composite Department Fire Chief CEMC & Assist to Chief 9 Fulltime 25 Volunteer Firefighters Area coverage City of Elliot Lake City and 9 Townships covering 900 square miles.

 Call came in at 14:19:15  Arrived on scene at 14:30:24  All victims had been transported or self transported to the hospital.  Assumed Command at 14:31:39  Command was setup outside at the main entrance to the mall.

After 3 hours of removing small debris, scouring every hole and crevasse with a sewer camera I ordered everyone out. - We had found an elderly female deceased about 4 feet down pinned in the rubble. -The firefighters within the first 20 minutes on the pile had heard muffled responses. - No other signs of a living or trapped person. -At this stage we were only risking firefighters lives and we had reached everything that we could do .

OFMEM, Bob Thorpe, Fire Protection Advisor. -Bob was a big help as he was my direct contact with the PEOC for resources and advice on authority, MOL authority on scene, HUSAR, UCURT. Bob worked with the Mutual Aid District Coordinator to pull crews in to bolster our numbers at the fire hall for coverage, taking the task off myself and my staff.

• Canada Task Force 3 – Toronto Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (Official name) • Arrive as a complete package and team – in our case, lead by Commander Bill Neadles. • Completely self-sufficient for up to 72 hours • Command Structure – Planning, Logistics, Finance and Operations, • Structural Engineer • Doctor

• Entire team very professional, well trained. • Easy to work with • Very efficient with equipment and required tasks to be performed. • Team orientated • Respectful of command structure and accountability. • Integration and operations was seamless. • Surprise to learn through the inquiry that HUSAR does not train utilizing cranes for debris extraction/rescue.

• Was not aware of USRT’s existence • USRT operates under the Ontario Provincial Police with a mandate of up to 42 hours on light search and rescue. • Operating protocols between the two teams (USRT & HUSAR) are that they integrate together • Unknown if this has been clarified since Elliot Lake Incident?

 Came on scene with the best of intentions to assist.  Was advised that MOL did not have a mandate to be on scene during the emergency.  IC made decision for them to stay as they had a seasoned engineer on scene to assist 26 year old HUSAR engineer.  Inquiry will determine mandate.

 Brad Bigrigg will speak to OPP relations during the emergency.

 OPP Detectives gathered files (building, fire, admin, etc) three days following the event. (two dedicated staff brought in to duplicate fire dept. files. All other city departments faced similar staffing issues. Demands/timelines were unrealistic)  City was not prepared with legal counsel - interviews and information gathering by OPP and Inquiry Counsel were being completed without legal representation.  Legal Opinions are not subject to warrant (privileged and confidential)

 Witness interviews and counsel preparation – inquiry counsel demands required 100% time and focus.  Every day of testimony required approximately 5 days of preparation.  Frequent changes to witness schedules by Inquiry Counsel were very disruptive.  Painful, long, drawn-out experience.  AND still have regular duties to attend to.

 Nerve-wracking experience for those called to testify.  Remembering events during a five day event proved the value of good notes. (without them you are screwed)  Every comment, decision, discussion, note, move was scrutinized  Although the mandate of the commission was to find out “what happened”, make recommendations and not find fault, it sure felt like a public flogging

 Lack of understanding/knowledge of emergency services operations/rescue resulted in inaccurate reporting.  Firefighting in Canada (Laura King) produced accurate reporting.  Media focused on the negative, sensationalizing the smallest of comments

 Immediately provided Critical Incident Stress Management.  Ongoing assessment  2 years on the anniversary of the collapse we had the TEMA Foundation come to the community to speak to PTSD. This was paid training for the firefighters.  We have two firefighters dealing with PTSD

 Very stressful two and a half years until Final Report and fallout.  The events of June 23, 2012 have become part of my everyday workload in one way or another.  Family has been very supportive.  Lesson learned – call your family once a day – not once in five days.  Petrified of having to face another inquiry or inquest.

 Utilize a professional Media Consultant (Squeaky Wheel) to assist with all media issues-immediatley  Communications – eg. Incident Command misinformation as a result of the first press release.  Immediate contact with all agencies for a clear command structure including CCG.  Use a Scribe – I did use one – saved my bacon.  Section 17 – I now know what one is. This is served by commission counsel advising you of potential personal misconduct. This is your opportunity to seek personal legal advice. (another nice surprise)  Trust your decisions, personnel and training.  Mutual Aid – use the resources available to you.